[T]he Transportation Security Administration deactivated a number of its controversial Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines throughout the country on Wednesday. Passengers from California's LAX reported that the backscatter X-ray machines were "all roped off." The phenomenon coincided with National Opt-Out Day, a grassroots-driven protest against naked body scanners and intrusive pat downs at airport security checkpoints.

While it cannot be confirmed how many body scanners were turned off at the California airport, it is clear that wherever the news cameras went, hungrily awaiting a protest scene, the scanners were simply deactivated. ...Is the TSA more concerned with its PR image than its duties? What's most perplexing is how government officials can claim that the body scanners are critical to airline safety if on the busiest travel day of the year so many can go unused without incident.